36 years ago I convinced my husband that anyone could make a delicious pizza at home…from scratch. We were newly married and lived in a setting so rural that there were no pizza places near enough to order for pick up or delivery. I’m going to share with you…but do make it seem like a bit of hard work or you will never simply order a pizza or even go get one. Yes, it’s that good.
Today it snowed and husband was home AND it was March 14. Pizza pie for Pi day!
First…the dough. You can make it or you can buy it. The easiest way to buy it is to buy frozen bread or pizza dough in your local supermarket’s frozen case. It’s there. You have to look for it. Try near the ravioli.
I make my own these days but I bought frozen dough for years. I make my own pizza dough in a bread machine. It takes 1 hour, start to finish. The ingredients are the same if you mix the dough by hand or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Pizza dough for 1 medium dough:
Ingredients: 1/2 teaspoon of dry yeast, 8 1/2 ounces bread flour (or regular if that’s all you have), 1/3 teaspoon of dry milk powder, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil, 5 ounces of water. Mix it all together until smooth and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The dough will be soft enough to push out onto a pizza pan. Do not attempt to toss over your head to spin it out. 😉
To make the pizza:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Generously oil your pan with olive oil.
Place the dough on the pan. Put a little olive oil on your hands and gently rub to coat the dough. Now flatten the dough with your hands and push out to the edges of the pan. Do not use your finger tips as you do not want holes in the dough. Work the dough firmly and slowly. The dough will fight back and shrink back into a ball if you work it too much.
When the dough it spread flat in an even thickness it is ready for the toppings.
Spread the grated cheese over the raw dough. Yes, first. Yes, before the sauce. I use a mixture of mozzarella, muenster, and provolone. Mozzarella alone is gooey but not very flavorful.
Next sprinkle whatever spices you like. Oregano. Basil. Garlic. And….your taste here.
With a spoon, drizzle plain tomato sauce on the pizza. If you decide to use pizza sauce, then extra spices are unnecessary.
Add toppings now. I usually use fried mushrooms….sometimes fried peppers…chopped olives. Again. Up to you.
Put the pizza, on the pan, into the middle of the oven. This pizza is thin and cooks in 20 to 30 minutes. Keep your eye on it because it can go from underdone to overdone in minutes.
When we were young…homemade pizza was our Friday night. We would watch basketball on TV. Especially great if the Sixers were playing the Celtics. Then pizza became our Friday night date after the children were asleep. Then we had Friday night pizza with the children. It’s just us again now. Our homemade pizza is a single now. And sometimes it’s on a night other than Friday. But it’s always a special meal and way of finding a quiet spot in our still hectic weeks.
If you have any leftover. The best way to reheat pizza slices is in a non-stick frying pan set to medium. With a lid. Crisp bottom. Melty top. Delicious!
yellow room upstairs 